Not guilty plea in crash that killed 9-year-old Skokie boy

Cook County Sheriff's photo

Hanin Goma, 23.

Hanin Goma, 23. (Cook County Sheriff's photo)

Brian L. Cox

A Cook County Circuit Court judge on Monday refused to lower the bond of a 23-year-old woman charged with driving under the influence of drugs in a May chain-reaction accident that killed a 9-year-old boy.

Hanin Goma, of the 5000 block of Wright Terrace in Skokie, is charged with a felony count of aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death and a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs. The May 21 accident killed Carter Vo, of the 4600 block of Madison Street in Skokie.

Goma pleaded not guilty to both charges Monday as Carter's parents watched in the courtroom. His father, Nhu Vo, said they came to see the woman who allegedly caused the crash that killed their son.

"I just wanted my son to be represented, so he's here, that's all," Vo said. "I just wanted to see what's going on."

According to investigators, Goma was driving from her job as a cashier at the Grecian Kitchen when she turned left onto Main Street in Skokie from St. Louis Avenue. Prosecutors said her vehicle struck an eastbound Ford Transit van, causing her car to spin over the median and land on the northeast corner sidewalk, where Carter was riding his bike.

Prosecutors said Goma's car pushed the bike across St. Louis, where it continued to slide until it hit a parked car. The second-grader from Madison Elementary School in Skokie died at the scene. Prosecutors said blood and urine tests showed that Goma had marijuana and amphetamines in her system when the crash happened.

"There are days when you have memories," Nhu Vo said. "Me and my wife try to go to work to get our mind off things. Usually I would come home and pick my son up, but I come home, and it's empty."